Notification system for providing awareness of an interactive surface

ABSTRACT

A system for providing awareness of an interactive surface is disclosed. The system may include a processor that is communicatively linked to an interactive surface. The processor may determine a position and a velocity of an object that is within range of the interactive surface based on one or more of media content, vibrations, air movement, sounds and, global positioning data associated with the object. Additionally, the processor may determine if the object has a trajectory that would cause the object to collide with the interactive surface based on the information associated with the object. If the processor determines that the object has a trajectory that would cause the object to collide with the interactive surface, the processor can generate a notification.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to collision warning systems, and moreparticularly to a system and method for preventing a collision with aninteractive surface.

BACKGROUND

In today's technologically-driven society, interactive glass surfacesand displays are at the forefront of innovation and, while not yetubiquitous, will become increasingly popular with users in the comingyears. This is particularly true considering the very rapid commercialacceptance of products that utilize touchscreen technologies such astouchscreen phones, tablets, computers, televisions, and displays. As aresult, users will have many more opportunities to interact with suchinteractive glass surfaces or other similar surfaces. For example,network-connected computers can display computer interfaces on a glasstable for users sitting at the table during a meeting; glass walls canhave interfaces that users can interact with to perform a variety offunctions; sliding glass doors in homes can have computer displays thatusers can interact with, and patient bedrooms in hospitals can haveglass walls that doctors can use to view medical information.

As interactive glass surfaces become more widespread, the chances ofusers or objects colliding with such glass surfaces will increasesubstantially. Unfortunately, glass surfaces can be quite dangerous tothose who do not see them. A user that collides with an interactiveglass surface can incur significant injuries or even cause the glass toshatter or malfunction. For example, if an interactive glass surface isused in a hospital, two doctors discussing and walking at the same timemay collide with a clear interactive glass display. Also, kids runningaround a household may accidentally run into interactive glass doors orother displays and sustain serious injuries. Additionally, users mayaccidentally place inappropriate materials on a computer display thatmay ultimately damage the display. Furthermore, when a person is walkingin the dark in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, theperson may walk right into an interactive glass display. Although thefuture of interactive displays is exciting, there are many uniquenuances associated with the use of interactive displays.

SUMMARY

A system and accompanying methods for providing awareness of aninteractive surface are disclosed. The system may be configured togenerate various types of notifications or perform other actions if aperson or an object has a trajectory that indicates that the person orobject will collide with an interactive surface. For example, varioustypes of notifications may include, but are not limited to, one or moreof adjusting the opacity of the interactive surface, presentingdifferent types of messages on the glass surface, emitting sounds andvibrations, and displaying various types of images or colors on theglass surface. Notably, the trajectory of the person or object may bedetermined based on determining position and velocity by using one ormore cameras, sensors, location positioning systems, and other systemsand devices that can capture and process information about the person orthe object. If the person or object continues on a trajectory to collidewith the interactive surface, the notifications may increase inintensity. On the other hand, if the person or object changes itstrajectory such that the person or object is no longer on a path tocollide with the interactive surface, the system may cause thenotifications to decrease in intensity or remove the notificationsaltogether.

The system for preventing a collision with an interactive surface mayinclude a memory for storing instructions and a processor that iscommunicatively coupled to the interactive surface. The processor mayexecute the instructions to perform operations comprising receivingmedia content associated with an object that is within a range of theinteractive surface. Additionally, the processor may be configured todetect a position and a velocity of the object that is in the range ofthe interactive surface. The processor may detect the position and thevelocity based at least in part on the recorded media content. Also, theprocessor may determine if the object has a trajectory that would causethe object to collide with the interactive surface. The trajectory maybe determined based on the position and the velocity of the object.Furthermore, the processor may generate a notification if the object isdetermined to have a trajectory that would cause the object to collidewith the interactive surface.

In another embodiment, a method for providing awareness of aninteractive surface is provided. The method may include receiving mediacontent associated with an object that is within a range of theinteractive surface. Additionally, the method may include determining aposition and a velocity of the object that is in the range of theinteractive surface based at least in part on the media content. Aprocessor may be configured to determine the position and the velocityof the object by executing instructions stored in a memory. The methodmay also include determining if the object has a trajectory that wouldcause the object to collide with the interactive surface. The trajectoryof the object may be determined based on the position and the velocityof the object. Furthermore, the method may include generating anotification if the object is determined to have the trajectory thatwould cause the object to collide with the interactive surface.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a tangible computer-readablemedium comprising instructions for providing awareness of an interactivesurface may be provided. The computer instructions, when loaded andexecuted by a processor, may cause the processor to perform operationsincluding the following: receiving media content associated with anobject that is within a range of an interactive surface; determining aposition and a velocity of the object that is in the range of theinteractive surface based at least in part on the media content;determining if the object has a trajectory that would cause the objectto collide with the interactive surface, wherein the trajectory isdetermined based on the position and the velocity of the object; andgenerating a notification if the object is determined to have thetrajectory that would cause the object to collide with the interactivesurface.

These and other features of the system and methods are described in thefollowing detailed description, drawings, and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating a person that is approachingan interactive surface of an awareness system according to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating a person that is in aposition and is moving at a velocity that has triggered variousnotifications from the interactive surface of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram illustrating a person that is in aposition and is moving at a velocity that has triggered more intensenotifications from the interactive surface of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a person that is approachingan interactive surface of another embodiment of the awareness system.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating a person that is in aposition and is moving at a velocity that has triggered a notificationfrom the interactive surface of FIG. 4.

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram illustrating a person that is in aposition and is moving at a velocity that has triggered more intensenotifications from the interactive surface of FIG. 4.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates a sample method for receivingvarious types of notifications based on the person's trajectory withrespect to an interactive surface according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating another sample method forreceiving various types of notifications based on a person's trajectorywith respect to an interactive surface.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating another method for providingawareness of an interactive surface according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A system 100 for providing awareness of an interactive surface 110 isdisclosed in the present disclosure. The system 100 alerts a person tothe presence of an interactive surface 110 to prevent a collision withthe interactive surface 110. The system 100 for providing awareness ofan interactive surface 110 may be configured to generate various typesof notifications or perform other actions if a user or an object 105 hasa trajectory that indicates that the user or object will collide with aninteractive surface 110 or other surface. For example, various types ofnotifications may include, but are not limited to including, one or moreof adjusting the opacity of the interactive surface 110, presentingdifferent types of messages on or near the interactive surface 110,emitting sounds and vibrations from or around the interactive surface110, or displaying various types of images or colors on or near theinteractive surface 110.

The system 100 may determine the trajectory of the person or object 105based on determining the person or object's position and velocity byusing one or more image capture devices 120, sensors, locationpositioning systems, and other systems and devices that can retrieve orprocess information, or both, relating to the person or the object 105.If the person or object 105 continues on the trajectory to collide withthe interactive surface 110, the system 100 may increase the intensityof the notifications or actions. However, if the person or object 105adjusts its trajectory so that the person or object is no longer on apath to collide with the interactive surface 110, the system 100 maydecrease the intensity of the notifications or even remove thenotifications altogether. Also, the system 100 may utilize sensors todetermine one or more of air movement, sounds, vibrations or otherdetectable information associated with the person or the object 105, andmay generate notifications based on such information.

Although FIGS. 1-6 illustrate specific example configurations of thevarious components of the system 100, the system 100 may include anyconfiguration of the components, which may include using a greater orlesser number of the components. For example, the system 100 may includemultiple servers 150, multiple location determination devices 115, andmultiple image capture devices 120. As another example, the system 100may be configured to not include the air movement sensor 125, but mayinclude the sound sensor 130 and the vibration sensor 135.

Object 105 in FIGS. 1A-2C is shown as being a person that is approachingthe interactive surface 110. However, the object 105 is not limited tobeing a person, but may also be any animal or thing that couldpotentially collide with the interactive surface 110. Additionally, theobject 105 may be anything that may be sensed by the various componentsof the system 100.

The interactive surface 110 may be any device that a user or potentiallyan animal could interact with and may be configured to display a widerange of notifications to users. As shown in FIGS. 1A-2C, theinteractive surface 110 may be an interactive glass display, a computer,a mobile device, a tablet device, a wall display, an interactive tabledisplay, any interactive monitor or television display, any touchscreendevice having a display, a plasma display, a liquid crystal display, a3-dimensional (3-D), or any other device that has a display. In oneembodiment, the interactive surface 110 may be an electrochromic device,a suspended particle device, a polymer dispersed liquid crystal device,mechanical smart windows, or a device having the capability of changingits opacity, color, visual appearance, or temperature, or a combinationthereof.

The interactive surface 110 may include or otherwise be communicativelylinked to one or more electronic processors 112 that may be configuredto perform a variety of operations in the system 100. The electronicprocessors 112 may perform the operations in the system 100 or maydirect various components in communication with the interactive surface110 or other components of the system 100 to perform the operations, orboth. For example, the electronic processors 112 may direct theelectronic processors 116 of the location determination device 115 todetermine position and velocity information for the object 105. Asanother example, the electronic processors 112 may direct the imagecapture device 120 to capture media content associated with the object105. Notably, the interactive surface 110 may be configured to displaycolors, adjust its opacity, display images and messages, displayuser-interactive programs, emit sounds of various pitches, volumes, andtimbres, emit vibrations, adjust its temperature, receive input fromusers, display outputs, or perform any computer operations by utilizingthe electronic processor 112 or other means. Additionally, theinteractive surface 110 may be communicatively linked to one or more ofthe location determination device 115, the image capture device 120, theair movement sensor 125, the sound sensor 130, the vibration sensor 135,the ultrasound device 137, the mobile device 140, the communicationsnetwork 145, the server 150, and the database 155.

The location determination device 115 may be any device that may beutilized to determine a position or a velocity, or both, of the object105, which, in FIGS. 1-6, is a person. The location determination device115 may include or otherwise be communicatively linked to one or moreelectronic processors 116 that may be configured to perform a variety ofoperations. The electronic processors 116 may perform the operations inthe system 100 or may direct various components in communication withlocation determination device 116 or other components of the system 100to perform the operations, or both. The electronic processors 116 may besoftware, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. Thelocation determination device 115 may include a global positioningsystem, a device that determines location by triangulation, or anydevice that can determine the position or velocity of the object 105, orboth. Notably, the location determination device 115 may be configuredto determine a current position or a current velocity of the object 105,or both, with respect to the position of the interactive surface 110.Furthermore, the location determination device 115 may becommunicatively linked with any of the components in the system 100 andcan transmit data, such as the position or velocity data, or bothtogether, with any other necessary information, to any of the componentsin the system 100. Although the location determination device 115 isillustratively shown on the interactive surface 110, the locationdetermination device 115 may be placed anywhere that the locationdetermination device 115 can effectively capture information associatedwith the object 105. In one embodiment, the location determinationdevice 115 may be located in close proximity to or even within theinteractive surface 110 itself.

The image capture device 120 of the system 100 may be a camera, such as,but not limited to, a video camera or other type of surveillance devicethat may be utilized to capture and record media content associated withthe object 105. The media content can include visual content, audiocontent, content associated with vibrations that the object 105 makes,and other content. For example, if the object 105 is a person, as shownin FIGS. 1A-2C, the image capture device 120 can record video of theperson and any sounds that the person makes when the person is in rangeof the interactive surface 110 or the system 100. The image capturedevice 120 may record sounds by utilizing a microphone, which may residewithin the interactive surface 110 or in proximity to the interactivesurface 110.

In one embodiment, the image capture device 120 may be configured todetermine the position, size, and the velocity of the object 150 basedon the media content that the image capture device 120 records. Inanother embodiment, the image capture device 120 may be able to generatea 3-D image that can be utilized to show where and how fast the object105 is moving with respect to the interactive surface 110. Furthermore,the image capture device 120 may be communicatively linked with any ofthe components in the system 100. Although the image capture device 120is illustratively shown above the interactive surface 110, the imagecapture device 120 may be placed anywhere that the image capture device120 can effectively capture media content associated with the object105. In an embodiment, the image capture device 120 may be a componentof the interactive surface 110 itself, and may be positioned within theinteractive surface 110 or outside of the interactive surface 110.

The air movement sensor 125 of the system 100 may be configured todetect changes in air movement, which may be generated by the object105, that are in the general vicinity of the interactive surface 110.For example, if a person is running towards the interactive surface 110,the air movement sensor 125 can detect changes in air movement caused bythe person's running. Additionally, the sound sensor 130 may beconfigured to detect changes in sound in the general area of theinteractive surface 110 that may be caused by the object 105. Forexample, if a person is making sounds near the interactive surface 110,the sound sensor 103 can detect the sounds that the person makes.Furthermore, the vibration sensor 135 may be configured to detectchanges in vibrations in the general area of the interactive surface 110that may be caused by the object 105. For example, the vibrations that aperson makes while walking or running towards the interactive surface110 may be detected by the vibration sensor 135 and may be used by thesystem 100 to determine where the person is and how fast the person ismoving.

One or more of the air movement sensor 125, the sound sensor 130, andthe vibration sensor 135 may be configured to transmit detectedinformation to any of the components of the system 100 and may beconfigured to include electronic processors. Also, the informationdetected by the air movement sensor 125, the sound sensor 130, and thevibration sensor 135 may be utilized in determining the position andvelocity of the object 105. Although the air movement sensor 125, thesound sensor 130, and the vibration sensor 135 are illustratively shownon the interactive surface 110, the sensors may be placed anywhere thatthe sensors can effectively detect the information about the object 105.

In one embodiment, the system 100 may also include an ultrasound device137, which can be configured to emit an ultrasonic sound in thedirection of the object 105. Once the ultrasonic sound is emitted, anecho may be returned from the object 105 based on the ultrasonic sound.The echo may be utilized by the system 100 to determine variousinformation about the object 105 such as, but not limited to, the size,shape, position, and velocity of the object 105. Additionally, the echomay be utilized by the system 100 to generate an image, such as a 3-Dimage of the object 105 so that the interactive surface 110 candetermine what is approaching it and display any necessary warningnotifications.

The mobile device 140 may be cellular telephone, a tablet, a personalcomputer, or any other similar device that may be utilized by a personthat is approaching the interactive surface 110. Notably, the mobiledevice 140 may be communicatively linked with any of the components inthe system 100 and may transmit position or velocity data, or both,associated with the object 105 to the interactive surface 110 or othercomponents in the system 100. For example, if the mobile device 140 is acellular phone with a global positioning system (GPS), then positioninformation, identification information, velocity information, or othertypes of information associated with the mobile device 140 or the person105, or both, may be transmitted to the system 100 by the GPS.Additionally, the mobile device 140 may utilize triangulation or otherlocation determination mechanisms to determine the position and velocityof the objection 105. The information transmitted to the system 100 maybe utilized in determining a trajectory of the object 105 with respectto the interactive surface 110.

The communications network 145 may be any other suitable network thatmay be utilized to allow the various components of the system 100 tocommunicate with one another. For instance, the communications network145 may be a wireless network, an ethernet network, a satellite network,a broadband network, a cellular network, a private network, a cablenetwork, the Internet, or any other network. The server 150 may includean electronic processor and may be configured to handle any necessaryprocessing for carrying out the various operative functions of thesystem 100. For example, the server 150 may receive data from theinteractive surface 110, the location determination device 115, theimage capture device 120, the air movement sensor 125, the sound sensor130, the vibration sensor 135, the mobile device 140, the communicationsnetwork 145, the ultrasound device 137, and the database 155 todetermine the precise location of the object 105. In one embodiment, anyof the electronic processors disclosed herein may perform the operationsin the system 100 or may direct various components in communication withthe components of the system 100 to perform the operations, or both.Additionally, the server 150 may be configured to transmit signals tothe interactive surface 110 so that the interactive surface 110 candisplay notifications. As an example, if the system 100 determines thata person is about to collide with the interactive surface 110, theserver 150 may send a signal to the interactive surface to display amessage on the interactive surface 110 that can warn the person of theimpending collision. Furthermore, any and all data that traverses thesystem 100 may be stored in the database 155.

Operatively, the system 100 may be configured to provide awareness ofthe interactive surface 110 in a variety of ways. In a first examplescenario, which is illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1C, an object 105 (in thiscase a person) is approaching the interactive surface 110. In thisexample, the interactive surface 110 is a large interactive glassdisplay. In FIG. 1A, for example, the person is illustratively shown ata location far away from the interactive surface 110. One or more of thelocation determination device 115, the image capture device 120, thevarious sensors 125, 130, and 135, the ultrasound device 137, the mobiledevice 140, the communications network 145, the server 150, and thedatabase 155, can all work in concert with one another to determine theperson's position and velocity with respect to the interactive surface110. Notably, not all of these devices are required to determine theposition and velocity of the person, but rather any subset of thedevices in the system 100 may be utilized to determine the person'sposition and velocity.

Once the position and velocity of the person are determined, the system100, via server 150 or any other device in the system 100, can determinea trajectory of the person with respect to the interactive surface 110.If the trajectory indicates that a collision will occur, the system 100may send a signal to the interactive surface 110 to display or emit anotification that can be perceived by the person. The notifications mayinclude, but are not limited to including, a displayed image or message,a change in color of the interactive surface 110, emitted sounds andvibrations, or a change in the opacity of the interactive surface 110.In FIG. 1A, the person is far enough away from the interactive surface110 that the system 100 does not cause the interactive surface 110 togenerate a notification and the interactive surface 110 can remain in atransparent state.

In FIG. 1B, however, the person is shown at a location that is closer tothe interactive surface 110 than the person is in FIG. 1A. The variousdevices in the system 100 may determine that the person is located at aposition and is moving at a velocity such that the person may eventuallycollide with the interface surface 110. If the person is determined tobe moving on a trajectory to eventually collide with the interfacesurface 110 based on his or her position or velocity, then system 100may generate a notification and transmit the notification to theinterface surface 110. In one embodiment, the notification may be amessage such as “Warning! Nearing Glass Surface!,” or another messagethat can notify the person of the presence of the interface surface 110.Additionally, the system 100 can cause the interface surface 110 to emitsounds and vibrations to notify the person of the presence of theinterface surface 110 as well. At this point, the person may eitherchange his or her trajectory based on the notifications displayed oremitted by the interface surface 110, or may continue to proceed on thetrajectory towards the interface surface 110. If the system determinesthat the person stops moving, or moves in an alternate trajectory thatwould not cause the person to collide with the interface surface 110,the system 100 may remove any displayed notifications or cause anyemitted warning sounds and vibrations to stop.

However, if the person continues to move on the trajectory to collidewith the interface surface 110 as illustrated in FIG. 1C, then system100 may transmit a signal to the interface surface 110 to display a moreintense message such as “Warning! You Are About To Collide With ThisGlass Surface!,” or another message that can urgently notify the personof the presence of the interface surface 110. Additionally, as shown inFIG. 1C, the system 100 can cause the interface surface 110 to emitsounds and vibrations of increased intensity to notify the person of thepresence of the interface surface 110. Hopefully, after sensing orseeing the notifications of increased intensity, the person will changetheir trajectory to avoid a collision with the interface surface 110.If, however, the person was merely rushing to use the interface surface110, and the person eventually slows down to a point where the system100 no longer considers the person to be on a trajectory to collide withthe interface surface 110, the interface surface 110 can either reducethe intensity of the notifications or remove the notificationsaltogether. In one embodiment, the interface surface 110 can display aprogram that the person may want to use or display instructions to teachthe user how to use the interface surface 110.

In another example scenario, which is illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C, anobject 105, which is shown as being a person, is approaching theinteractive surface 110, which in this case is a large interactive glassdisplay. In FIG. 2A, the person is shown at a location far from theinteractive surface 110. As in the previous example, the variouscomponents of the system 100 can all work in concert together todetermine the person's position and velocity with respect to theinteractive surface 110. However, as mentioned above, not all of thedevices in the system 100 are required to determine the position andvelocity of the person, but rather any subset of the devices in thesystem 100 may be utilized to determine the person's position andvelocity. Once the position and velocity of the person are determined,the system 100, via server 150 or any other device in the system 100,can determine the trajectory of the person with respect to theinteractive surface 110. If the trajectory indicates that a collisionwill occur, the system 100 may send a signal to the interactive surface110 to display or emit a notification that can be perceived by theperson. In FIG. 2A, the person has been determined to be far enough awayfrom the interactive surface 110 that the system 100 does not cause theinteractive surface 110 to generate a notification. As a result, theinteractive surface 110 remains in a transparent state.

In FIG. 2B, however, the person is shown at a location that is closer tothe interactive surface 110 than the person is in FIG. 2A and closerthan a threshold distance. When the person proceeds closer than thethreshold distance, the system 100 may determine that the person has aposition and velocity such that the person may collide with theinterface surface 110. If the person is determined to be moving on atrajectory to eventually collide with the interface surface 110 based onhis or her position or velocity, then system 100 may transmit a signalto the interface surface 110 to adjust its opacity or color so that thesystem 100 that can alert the person of the presence of the interfacesurface 110. As shown in FIG. 2B, the interface surface 110 is moreopaque than the interface surface 110 illustrated in FIG. 2A.Alternatively or additionally, the system 100 can cause the interfacesurface 110 to emit sounds or vibrations, or both, to notify the personof the location of the interface surface 110. Upon sensing thenotifications from the system 100, the person may either change his orher trajectory or may continue to proceed on the trajectory towards theinterface surface 110. If the system determines that the person is nolonger on a trajectory to collide with the interface surface 110, thesystem 100 may cause the interface surface 110 to remove or reduce anynotifications. However, if the person continues to move on thetrajectory to collide with the interface surface 110 as illustrated inFIG. 2C, then the system 100 may transmit a signal to the interfacesurface 110 to increase the opacity of the interface surface 110 tofurther notify the person of the presence of the interface surface 110.

In one embodiment, the interface surface 110 may be given a signal bythe system 100 to display a darker or brighter color on the interactivesurface 110. For instance, as shown in FIG. 2C, the interface surface110 is more opaque than the interface surface 110 illustrated in FIG.2B. Additionally, the system 100 can cause the interface surface 110 toemit sounds or vibrations, or both, of increased intensity to notify theperson of the interface surface 110. Hopefully, after noticing thenotifications of increased intensity, the person will change theirtrajectory to avoid colliding with the interface surface 110. However,if the person was merely rushing to use the interface surface 110, andthe person eventually slows down to a point where the system 100determines that the person is not on a trajectory to collide with theinterface surface 110, the interface surface 110 can either reduce theintensity of the notifications or remove the notifications. In oneembodiment, the interface surface 110 can display a program that theperson may want to use or even display instructions that can teach theuser how to use the interface surface 110.

An exemplary method 300 for providing awareness of an interactivesurface 110 as shown in FIG. 3 involves a situation where a child isrunning around a family home. The method 300 may include, at step 305,having a child running around his family's house. While the child isrunning around the house, the system 100 may determine, at step 310,whether the child is in the range of the interactive surface 110, whichin this case may be an interactive glass display. At step 315, thesystem 100 may determine that the child is on a trajectory to collidewith the interactive surface 110. Once the system 100 determines thatthe child is on the trajectory to collide with the interactive surface110, the system 100 can transmit a signal to the interactive surface 110to cause the interactive surface 110 to increase its opacity.

Alternatively or additionally to sending a signal to increase opacity,the system 100 can send a signal to the interactive surface 110 togenerate and vibrate a low-pitch tone at step 325. At step 330 of themethod 300, the child can see or hear, or both, the interactive surface110 based on the increased opacity and the low-pitch tone. Once thechild sees or hears, or both, the interactive surface 110, the child canchange his trajectory so that he will no longer be on course to collidewith the interactive surface 110 at step 335. At step 340, the system100 can determine that the child is on a new trajectory that would notcause a collision with the interactive surface 110. At step 345, thesystem 100 can send signals to the interactive surface 110 becometransparent once again and to stop vibrating the tone.

Another exemplary method 400 for providing awareness of an interactivesurface 110 (in this case a glass display), as shown in FIG. 4, involvesa situation where a child does not take the first warning from theinteractive surface 110. The method 400 may include, at step 405, havingthe child running around his family's house as in the previous example.While the child is running around the house, the system 100 maydetermine, at step 410, the child's movement information, such as hisposition, velocity, and trajectory. At step 415, the system 100 maydetermine that the child is getting too close to the interactive surface110. As a result, the method 400 may include having the system 100 senda signal to the interactive surface 110 to increase its opacity suchthat the interactive surface 110 is 20% white at step 420. At step 425,the system 100 can cause the interface surface 110 to emit a 700 hertz(Hz) vibration.

At step 430, the system 100 can determine that, despite the initialnotifications, the child is getting even closer to the interactivesurface 110. Now, the system 100 can send another signal to theinteractive surface 110 to increase its opacity such that theinteractive surface 110 is now 40% white at step 435. Additionally, atstep 440, the system 100 can cause the interface surface 110 to adjustthe 700 Hz vibration to a 1400 Hz vibration. At this point, the childmay see or hear, or both, the interactive surface 110 at step 445. Atstep 450, the system 100 can determine that a collision with theinteractive surface 110 has been avoided because the child has changedhis trajectory. At step 455, the child can run elsewhere and the system100 can determine the child's new position, velocity, and trajectory andfind that the child is no longer at risk of a collision. At step 460,the system 100 can transmit a signal to the interactive surface 110 toreturn to a clear or transparent state. Finally, the system 100 cantransmit a signal to the interactive surface 110 to stop emittingvibrations at step 465.

In yet another an exemplary method 500 for providing awareness of aninteractive surface 110, as shown in FIG. 5, the method 500 may include,at step 502, recording media content associated with an object 105 thatis in the range of an interactive surface 110. The media content can besound content, visual content, or vibrations, any combination thereof,or any other content. The media content may be recorded, for example, bythe image capture device 120 or other appropriate device. At step 504,the method 500 may include determining a position and a velocity of theobject 105 based on the media content or on any of the informationgathered by any of the components in the system 100, or any combinationthereof. The position and the velocity, for example, may be determinedby the location determination device 115, the interactive surface 110,the server 150, the computer system 600, any combination thereof, orother appropriate device. The method 500 may include, at step 506,determining if the object 105 has a trajectory that would cause theobject to collide with the interactive surface 110 based on the positionand velocity of the objection 105. The trajectory may also be determinedbased on sensed vibrations, sounds, images, or other informationgathered by the components of the system 100. In one embodiment, thetrajectory may be determined by the location determination device 115,the interactive surface 110, the server 150, the computer system 600,any combination thereof, or other appropriate device.

At step 508, if the object 105 is determined not to be on a trajectoryto collide with the interactive surface 110, then the method can returnto step 502 or the method can conclude. However, if the object 105 isdetermined to be on a trajectory to collide with the interactive surface110, the method 500 may include generating a notification on or near theinteractive surface 110 to indicate the location of the interactiveservice 110 at step 510 via the location determination device 115, theinteractive surface 110, the server 150, the computer system 600, anycombination thereof, or other appropriate device. At step 512, themethod 500 may include determining if the object 105 is still on thetrajectory to collide with the interactive surface 110 despite thenotifications. Step 512 may be performed by the location determinationdevice 115, the interactive surface 110, the server 150, the computersystem 600, any combination thereof, or other appropriate device. If theobject 105 is no longer on course to collide with the interactivesurface after the initial notifications, the method 500 may includereducing or removing the notifications from or around the interfacesurface 110 at step 514. However, if the object 105 is still on coursefor a collision with the interface surface 110, then the method 500 mayinclude increasing the intensity or number of notifications, or both, sothat the object 105 hopefully changes its trajectory at step 516. In oneembodiment, steps 514 and 516 may be performed by the interactivesurface 110, the server 150, the computer system 600, any combinationthereof, or other appropriate device.

In one embodiment, the system 100 and methods described herein mayinclude presenting the notifications only on a portion of theinteractive surface 110. For instance, while notifications are presentedon some portions, other portions of the interface surface 110 can remainin normal operational mode. In another embodiment, the systems andmethods may include enabling a person to use the interactive surface 110as a whiteboard. For example, if the system 100 causes the interactivesurface 110 to become opaque as a notification to a person approachingthe interactive surface 110, the opaque portion may be used as awhiteboard by the person. In an embodiment, the trajectory calculated bythe system 100 may be a predicted path that the person or object 105 maybe determined to be following.

In another embodiment, the system 100 and methods may include providinga specific sequence or pattern of notifications based on the situationthat presents itself. For example, the system 100 may cause theinteractive surface 110 to emit a specific low sound, multi-pulsesequence that can indicate when the interactive surface 110 can beutilized as a computer display, whiteboard, or for certain otherpurposes. In another embodiment, the system 100 and methods may includehaving the interactive surface 110 visually or orally identify itsfunctions to users and any data to which it has access. In anotherembodiment, the system 100 and methods can utilize infrared technology,motion detectors, laser detectors, or any other type of detector toassist in determine a position, velocity, or other informationassociated with an object 105. In another embodiment, the method 500 mayinclude determining the positions and velocities of multiple objects105. Multiple trajectories may be determined either for a single object104 or for multiple objects 105 and notifications may be generated sothat they are tailored to each object 105 that is approaching theinteractive interface. It is important to note that the methodsdescribed above may incorporate any of the functionality, devices, orfeatures of the systems described above, or otherwise, and are notintended to be limited to the description or examples provided herein.

The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, anddescribing embodiments of this invention. Modifications and adaptationsto these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art andmay be made without departing from the scope or spirit of thisinvention. Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would beevident to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art that saidembodiments can be modified, reduced, or enhanced without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the claims described below.

Referring now also to FIG. 6, at least a portion of the methodologiesand techniques described with respect to the exemplary embodiments canincorporate a machine, such as, but not limited to, computer system 600,or other computing device within which a set of instructions, whenexecuted, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies or functions discussed above. The machine may beconfigured to facilitate various operations conducted by the system 100.For example, the machine may be configured to, but is not limited to,assist the system 100 by providing processing power to assist withprocessing loads experienced in the system 100, by providing storagecapacity for storing instructions or data traversing the system 100, bycapturing media content, or by assisting with any other operationsconducted by or within the system 100.

In some embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device. Insome embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., using a network145) to and assist with operations performed by other machines, such as,but not limited to, the interactive surface 110, the locationdetermination device 115, the image capture device 120, the air movementsensor 125, the sound sensor 130, the vibration sensor 135, theultrasound device 137, the mobile device 140, the server 150, and thedatabase 155, or any combination thereof. The machine may be connectedwith any component in the system 100. In a networked deployment, themachine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client user machinein server-client user network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine maycomprise a server computer, a client user computer, a personal computer(PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a controlsystem, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 600 may include a processor 602 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 604 and a static memory 604, which communicate with each othervia a bus 608. The computer system 600 may further include a videodisplay unit 610 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system600 may include an input device 612 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 614 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 616, a signal generationdevice 618 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 620.

The disk drive unit 616 may include a machine-readable medium 622 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions 624 (e.g., software)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 624may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 604, the static memory 606, or within the processor 602, or acombination thereof, during execution thereof by the computer system600. The main memory 604 and the processor 602 also may constitutemachine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 624 so that a device connected to the communicationsnetwork 145 can send or receive voice, video or data, and to communicateover the network 145 using the instructions 624. The instructions 624may further be transmitted or received over the network 145 via thenetwork interface device 620.

While the machine-readable medium 622 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape; orother self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one ormore of a machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listedherein and including art-recognized equivalents and successor media, inwhich the software implementations herein are stored.

The illustrations of arrangements described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other arrangements will beapparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the abovedescription. Other arrangements may be utilized and derived therefrom,such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of this disclosure. Figures are alsomerely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certainproportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Thus, although specific arrangements have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated toachieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific arrangementshown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations orvariations of various embodiments and arrangements of the invention.Combinations of the above arrangements, and other arrangements notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description. Therefore, it is intended thatthe disclosure not be limited to the particular arrangement(s) disclosedas the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but thatthe invention will include all embodiments and arrangements fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A system for providing awareness of an interactive surface,comprising: a memory for storing instructions; and a processor coupledto the interactive surface, the processor for executing the instructionsto perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving mediacontent associated with an object that is within a range of theinteractive surface; detecting a position and a velocity of the objectthat is in the range of the interactive surface based at least in parton the media content; determining if the object has a trajectory thatwould cause the object to collide with the interactive surface, whereinthe trajectory is determined based on the position and the velocity ofthe object; and generating a notification if the object is determined tohave the trajectory that would cause the object to collide with theinteractive surface.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise removing the notification if the object is determinedto no longer have the trajectory that would cause the object to collidewith the interactive surface.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise increasing an intensity of the notificationas the object gets closer to the interactive surface.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise decreasing an intensityof the notification as the object get farther away from the interactivesurface.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise detecting a change in air movement associated with the objectand generating the notification if the change is higher than a thresholdvalue.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprisedetecting vibrations associated with the object, and generating thenotification if the vibrations are greater than a threshold value. 7.The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise detectinga sound associated with the object, and wherein the operations furthercomprise generating the notification if the sound is greater than athreshold value.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the notificationcomprises changing opacity of the interactive surface.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the notification comprises generating an auditorysignal from the interactive surface.
 10. The system of claim 1, whereinthe notification comprises generating a visual signal that is viewablefrom the interactive surface.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise detecting the position and the velocity ofthe object by utilizing one of the group consisting of a globalpositioning system, a cellular network, and a wireless network.
 12. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise detecting theposition and velocity of the object by utilizing a motion sensor.
 13. Amethod for providing awareness of an interactive surface, comprising:receiving media content associated with an object that is within a rangeof the interactive surface; determining a position and a velocity of theobject that is in the range of the interactive surface based at least inpart on the media content by utilizing instructions stored in memory andexecuted by a processor; determining if the object has a trajectory thatwould cause the object to collide with the interactive surface, whereindetermining the trajectory is based on the position and the velocity ofthe object; and generating a notification if the object is determined tohave the trajectory that would cause the object to collide with theinteractive surface.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingincreasing an intensity of the notification as the object as gets closerto the interactive surface.
 15. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising emitting an ultrasonic sound in the range of the interactivesurface and receiving an echo from the object based on the ultrasonicsound, and further comprising generating the notification based on theecho from the object.
 16. The method of claim 13, further comprisingremoving the notification if the object is determined to no longer havethe trajectory to collide with the interactive surface.
 17. The methodof claim 13, wherein the notification comprises generating a hapticsignal from the interactive surface.
 18. The method of claim 13, whereinthe notification comprises identifying a function of the interactivesurface.
 19. The method of claim 13, further comprising overriding aprogram running on the interactive surface when generating thenotification.
 20. A tangible computer-readable medium comprisinginstructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform operations comprising: receiving media content associated withan object that is within a range of an interactive surface; determininga position and a velocity of the object that is in the range of theinteractive surface based at least in part on the media content;determining if the object has a trajectory that would cause the objectto collide with the interactive surface, wherein the trajectory isdetermined based on the position and the velocity of the object; andgenerating a notification if the object is determined to have thetrajectory that would cause the object to collide with the interactivesurface.